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PM’s favourite Cornish village ‘under siege’ from wind turbine

You read it right – ONE wind turbine. Protests against schemes for dozens are lucky to get a mention sometimes.

An agency report for the Telegraph says:

A picturesque Cornish village so loved by the Prime Minister that he named his daughter after it is set to have its rural beauty wrecked by red flashing lights from a large wind turbine, locals say.

David Cameron and wife Samantha christened their fourth child Florence Rose Endellion because they loved holidaying near St Endellion, on the north Cornwall coast.

They are believed to have been enamoured with its simple charm before their daughter was born at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in August 2010.

Now villagers, who are already unhappy at plans for the 200ft tall wind turbine, learned it will have to be illuminated at night by red flashing lights because of nearby Ministry of Defence (MoD) radar equipment.

Thousands of tourists visit every year to admire the village and St Endellion, a 13th century church where the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is churchwarden.

However, locals claim the rural beauty will be ruined by the towering wind turbine at Treswarrow Park Farm at Trelights, near Port Isaac, where the television programme Doc Martin is filmed.

The MoD has also joined the protests, expressing concern over the impact on radar installations just along the coast at Hartland.

A letter to council planners from Rachel Evans, of the MoD’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation, warns the turbine would cause “unacceptable interference” to the nation’s radar defence system.

Might I suggest you also stress that broken blades have been known to travel 1300metres. Put it to the Council that they will need extra (and expensive) insurances against property damage and people being injured or killed. Stress that it will be the Council taking the risks. That tends to make them cautious.

Graeme: I’ve told councils that before, especially in the case of Devon County Council which wanted to put a massive turbine up on an industrial estate it owned. When I told the Local council at a public meeting that it was their responsibility to ensure a risk assessment had been done properly, the planning manager publicly lied to the planning committee and said safety was not the responsibility of the LPA. It is impossible to win in the system where local democracy is ignored and unelected bureaucrats have the final say.